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WOLVES IN SAN ANTONIO

Los Lobos Courtesy photo

Los Lobos began as four Chicano teenagers playing traditional Mexican music, as well as estilo garage-band rock 'n' roll. After adding a fifth member, an Anglo, on sax, the quintet created a body of music that has crossed borders and charted new directions.

True to its roots, Los Lobos records rousing polkas and moody cumbias. Listen to the debut album, Just Another Band From East L.A., or the superb La Pistola y El Corazón to hear guitar-based folk music that rivals the best Mexico has to offer. How Will the Wolf Survive? exemplifies the band's roots-rock approach; its combination of thoughtful lyrics and guitar-and-sax heavy, bluesy feel still holds up after two decades, while last year's Good Morning, Aztlán harkens back, in spirit and style, to this earlier sound.

Los Lobos' three previous albums show the group at their most experimental, from the dreamy, magical world of Kiko, to the avant-garde and abstract Colossal Head and electrified, eclectic This Time. This surge in creative energy spilled over into several side projects, all worth a listen: the Chicano poetics with a Tom Waits twist of the Latin Playboys' two tantalizing discs; the down-and-dirty bluesyness of David Hidalgo's Houndog and Cesar Rosas' Soul Disguise; the group's collaboration with Lalo Guerrero on a bilingual childrens album, and of course the critically acclaimed all-star ensemble of Los Super Seven. Whew!

Los Lobos are a San Antonio favorite, playing to packed houses during their regular visits to the area. This weekend we luck out, with two chances to see them. The group is playing - along with far too many other acts to mention - as part of the Austin City Limits music festival. But save yourself the trip up I-35: You can see the group play under the stars in Helotes at the Floore Country Store on Friday, September 19. And since they are headlining, no one is going to prevent the boys from jamming through the wee hours of the night.